Professional Development Tools

Introduction

Welcome to the NCWD/Youth Professional Development area. This section of the website has information about the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) Initiative and all of NCWD/Youth’s training resources. In this section, you can: learn about the 10 KSA Competency Areas, discover practical professional development strategies, and connect to new training resources, including KSA-specific materials. The KSA Initiative was developed to improve the awareness, knowledge, and skills of youth service practitioners, those individuals who work directly with youth. In addition, NCWD/Youth has developed training materials in key areas, such as assessment, universal design, and youth development and leadership. The KSA Initiative and the training materials on this site are part of NCWD/Youth’s ongoing efforts to connect all youth, including youth with disabilities, to better workforce development opportunities.

• KSA Resources

• Training Modules

• Technical Assistance Tools

• Peer To Peer Youth Mentor Training

KSA Resources

• KSA Study Guide: Building Youth Service Practitioner Staff Competencies
• KSA Assessment for Practitioners - Microsoft Word , KSA Assessment for Practitioners - Adobe PDF .
• KSA Professional Development Plan for Practitioners - Microsoft Word , KSA Professional Development Plan for Practitioners - Adobe PDF .
• KSA Professional Development Assessment for Organizations and Systems - Microsoft Word , KSA Professional Development Assessment for Organizations and Systems - Adobe PDF .
• KSA Jump Start
• KSA White Paper - Microsoft Word , KSA White Paper - Adobe PDF .
• "Why Professional Development?" Info Brief - Microsoft Word , "Why Professional Development?" Info Brief - Adobe PDF .

Training Modules

• Module 1: Disability Overview - Microsoft Word , Module 1: Disability Overview - Microsoft PowerPoint
• Module 2: Accommodating Disability - Microsoft Word , Module 2: Accommodating Disability - Microsoft PowerPoint
• Module 3: Guideposts: Quality Work-Based Learning Programs - Microsoft Word , Module 3: Guideposts: Quality Work-Based Learning Programs - Microsoft PowerPoint
• Module 4: Linking and Leveraging - Microsoft Word , Module 4: Linking and Leveraging - Microsoft PowerPoint
• Module 5: Youth Development & Leadership - Microsoft Word , Module 5: Youth Development & Leadership - Microsoft PowerPoint

Technical Assistance Tools

NCWD/Youth partners have developed sets of technical assistance tools to offer guidance in the design and implementation of programs in the field of workforce disability and youth.

Building, Developing, and Going to Scale: Grant Funded Programs for Youth in Transition

• Module 1: Collaboration and Relationship Building
  Module 1 in PDF or Module 1 in MS Word

• Module 2: The Critical Choice—Pilot vs. Prototype
  Module 2 in PDF or Module 2 in MS Word

• Module 3: Leadership, Communications, and Outreach
  Module 3 in PDF or Module 3 in MS Word

• Module 4: The Fundamentals of System Building, Developing, and Going to Scale
  Module 4 in PDF or Module 4 in MS Word

• Module 5: The Practical Tools for System Building, Developing, and Going to Scale
  Module 5 in PDF or Module 5 in MS Word

• Module 6: Sustaining and Expanding Effective Practices
  Module 6 in PDF or Module 6 in MS Word

These six modules were originally developed as technical assistance tools for the state agency networks who are participating in an innovative, grant funded project under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). In creating this project, ODEP understood that the success of the project was contingent upon grants which provided the sites with flexible dollars and high quality technical assistance. The flexible grant have allowed the sites to create a laboratory environment for the project, as they attempt to "build a system" of support for youth with disabilities. The technical assistance has provided the sites with the opportunity to build their current local capacity, and at the same time, develop the project, take it to scale and eventually sustain the model.

The modules emerged from a combination of established practices in the realm of human systems and educational reform, successful business models, and the voices of the ODEP grantees who have had insightful questions and comments about their work thus far. The sum total of this input has led to the composite of best thinking for the grantees and all of their partners. The documents contain an inventory of practical questions that have been asked and answered all over the country, in a variety of settings. Thus, even though their original purpose was to support the efforts of the ODEP grantees, it has become clear that the practical value of the modules can be extended to the entire workforce system, other state agencies working with youth in transition, policy makers and any public or private funder that is willing to provide the resources for innovative, collaborative youth development efforts. The modules are not meant to provide a step-by-step approach, nor should they imply any. Instead, they do offer a straightforward overview of the complex and deliberate tasks associated with our responsibility to improve the well-being of youth with disabilities.

Peer To Peer Youth Mentor Training

The following curricula was developed by the Y.I.E.L.D. the Power project, at Access Living, to nourish the leadership skills of young people with disabilities. Access Living is a cross-disability organization majority-governed and staffed by people with disabilities.

• Application
• Peer Orientation
• Program Start-Up
• Training Sessions

NCWD/Youth | c/o Institute for Educational Leadership
4455 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 310 | Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: 1-877-871-0744 (Toll Free)
TTY: 877-871-0665 (Toll Free)